Cooking With Your Kids
Whether you find meal preparation a chore or a joy can depend on if you have help. And yes, if that help comes in the form of a very young child, it may be theoretical at best. But sharing this daily activity can make both of you feel better. In time, your offspring's contribution will actually mean less work for you.
First, take a moment to prepare your kitchen. Make sure there's a sturdy stool or chair, and space available for working. An apron or a special "cooking shirt" can make a kid feel like a pro, while limiting the mess.
Take a look at your drawers. Sharp knives are off-limits, obviously, until kids has proven they know how to handle them. But mixing spoons, non-breakable bowls and pans, colanders — you already own lots of tools that are just fine for kids.
As for which jobs work best, try to break down the tasks into small parts. A very young child can rip lettuce, sprinkle salt from a shaker, wash a vegetable. Next up comes mixing, or laying out ingredients or patting them into shapes. Kids love decorating foods — making faces out of carrot sticks and raisins, shaping broccoli or celery sticks into forests, rolling dough into shapes. (You can use refrigerator rolls. And pre-made pizza dough is fun waiting to happen.) Older kids can slide chunks of fruit on skewers for edible centerpieces. And who doesn't enjoy cracking or beating eggs?
Studies show that kids who help in meal preparation are more likely to eat the foods they've worked on. They can see what's gone into a dish, and they're proud of their efforts. But imagination is important as well. A recent study showed that, when peas were renamed Power Peas, twice as many kids decided they were worth eating. When researchers renamed a tomato-based vegetable juice Rainforest Smoothie, they ran out of it altogether.
Cooking is infinitely variable, infinitely engaging. You've got to get supper on the table anyway; why not enjoy the process with your kids?
When kids feel comfortable in the kitchen, they learn real skills, enjoy more foods, and feel proud of what they do. They may even help you!
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today. You can buy this book from our friends at Smucker's® Online Store.
